@elp magazine, Issue 3, September 2015

@elp MAGAZINE

Issue 3 September 2015

A summary of the academics, activities and accomplishments at the English Language Program

The Culture of Sports Club Learning through sport

Groups @elp

Visiting schools make the most of their experience

Did you know?

Fun facts about Canada everyone should know

CONTENTS

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

4 @elp

Rana Khayyat

An Ounce of Prevention

MAGAZINE

EDITOR & DESIGN Dan Pinese

STAFF CONTRIBUTORS Ali Mrani Alaoui Pia Berger Fadia Cocco Chris Chipman Brenda Colley Erik Dean Jennifer Harris Rosa Leo Jingjing Li Jessica Lim Lingnan Meng Asumi Matsumoto, Darren Rigo Mustafa Sarier Graham Shular Junko Takahashi Andrea Michaely Sriskandarajah

ACADEMICS

10 Graffiti

6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 14 15

Emily Carr Exciting Niagara Falls Eating Sushi in Toronto Our Trip to Ripley’s My First Vacation in Canada Scattered Words Travel Confidence Transporation

Reasons for Free Education

GROUPS

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17 Meiji University 17 Chukyo University 18 Nihon University 18 Kobe University Nagoya University of 19 Foreign Studies 20 Kwansei Gakuin University 27 Kansai University 46 ELP on Instagram

ACTIVITIES

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26 Volunteering 28 How We Roll 29 Softball 30 Ripley’s Aquarium Learning 32 Through Sport 33 Music Corner 34 Buskerfest 35 Harbourfront Canoe 36 Facts About Canada 38 Changing Seasons 40 ELP on Instagram 42 Ask Rosa

@elp MAGAZINE

accomplishments

Rana Khayyat

of Saudi Arabia

An Ounce of Prevention By: Brenda Colley, Program Administrator, Academic Support

Rana Khayyat, a former Academic English student at the English Language Program (ELP) explains the motivations behind her academic goals and success. Currently working at St. Michael’s Hospital after gaining acceptance to the (Nutritional Sciences Program) at the University of Toronto, the importance of education and—more importantly— public education, have resulted in a journey from Saudi Arabia to Toronto.

[Rana] plans to learn as much as she can and gain as much experience as possible in Canada before going back to Saudi Arabia to educate people there. Her main focus is on public awareness of nutrition.

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s a young child in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Rana grew up with academically inclined parents who acknowledged the importance of education.

She attended multiple public schools in her home country. “They were public schools because free education is the most remarkable/ significant things in Saudi Arabia,” she said.

While growing up, Rana witnessed her father’s struggle with diabetes. “When I was 18 years old, I lost my dad because of diabetes.” Through this experience, Rana found her academic purpose.

“Diabetes doesn’t get that much public education in Saudi Arabia, so the first step was to go to university and study Food and Nutrition.”

After realizing the limitations to studying nutritional sciences in Saudi Arabia, Rana made the big decision to come to Toronto. When she arrived, she was met with some of the difficulties that many people experience when moving away from home.

“Everything was new, even the different culture, the different experience,” she said. However, with the help of many instructors, particularly—Dorothy and Ted— at level 60, she successfully finished the English Language Program. “Dorothy has this kind of intelligence in how to deal with students. So she made the classroom like home.”

accomplishments @elp

sometimes complicated application process. “It helped me a lot actually. We started working on applications, one by one.”

Though Rana was not accepted to two of her three programs of choice, her mantra through all of the procedure remained positive. “Don’t give up.”

However, with the University of Toronto being the remaining school she had yet to hear from, Rana could not help but have a few doubts. “I thought, okay these universities just rejected me. Will UofT accept me? It’s kind of impossible.”

But, she continued to work on her applications and finally was accepted to the University of Toronto. “They accepted me!” she said. And ever since this time, Rana has been busy preparing for graduate studies. In so doing, she is now working with her future research supervisor at the University of Toronto affiliated, St. Michael’s Hospital.

So what’s next for Rana? As she explained, she plans to learn as much as she can and gain as much experience as possible in Canada before going back to Saudi Arabia to educate people there. Her main focus is on public awareness of nutrition.

“In Saudi Arabia, we need to raise the public awareness of nutrition.” She believes that two things need to happen. “We need to solve the problem of hunger in the world and people need to be aware of their food and how to use it to prevent diseases. As Hippocrates says “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of Cure.”

Rana’s success is due to her hard work and a strong sense of purpose. Just like her parents have always felt, Rana believes that the way to reach these goals, among others, is through education.

“I think education is really important and it’s a key point to help public health improve.”

One-on-one Application Support One-on-one application support is available by appointment. Students can visit the main office in room 4-106 to arrange an appointment to speak with our Application Support Program Assistant. Be sure to arrive at your appointment with prepared questions and any supporting documentation you may need.

While working towards improving her English, Rana also focused her attention on furthering her studies in nutritional sciences. She set her sights on three Masters programs in Canada at Ryerson University, University of Guelph, and University of Toronto. Even though she found the application procedure difficult, ELP’s University and College Application Support helped her navigate the

Contact Brenda: brenda.colley@utoronto.ca

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academics Disclaimer: Due to our diverse student population, we receive many opinion-based articles relating to global and current affairs. The views expressed in this magazine are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the English Language Program.

The English Language Program does not endorse, represent or warrant the quality of products or companies mentioned within.

Emily Carr

By: Efe Bedirhan Ozbilge, English PLUS, Low-Intermediate

O

ur class joined Anne’s Class on August 19th for the Canadian Culture Day in the English PLUS Program.

She talked about the Canadian painter, Emily Carr and her paintings. It was a very good presentation for us, because we learned about a new culture. Junko (my teacher) and Anne had posted Emily’s paintings around the room. The students then decided which paintings went into which part of her life.

The different periods were Early Emily, European Emily and Post-Group of Seven Emily. From the paintings on the wall, there was one painting that did not belong to Emily Carr. After the presentation, we tried to choose which one was not Emily Carr’s painting. Finally, we drew pictures inspired by Emily Carr’s paintings.

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academics @elp

Exciting Niagara Falls By: Giovanni Grillo of Italy, English PLUS, Low-Intermediate

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iagara Falls is the collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the international border between Canada and USA. The peak visitor traffic is in the summer time when Niagara Falls is both a daytime and evening attraction. From the Canada side, floodlights illuminate both sides of the falls for several hours after dark.

The best (and I think the oldest) tourist attraction is the “Maid of the Mist” (now called the Hornblower) boat cruise. It is amazing, because you can see the power of the water. The second best attraction (in my opinion) is “Journey Behind the Falls.” The table rock is located beside the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. It is accessible only by elevator. When you arrive, you may hear the water falling down.

But the best thing about this trip is that you can make new friends, discover new places and learn their histories...Probably you are wondering, are there any other activities to do there? My answer is, yes, of course!

There are lots of activities to do there, but I would suggest to go and see it for yourself in person to experience this wonderful adventure!

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academics

Eating Sushi in Toronto By: Rika Seto of Japan, English PLUS, Low-Intermediate

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apan has many of its own unique foods and cultures. Sushi is an especially popular food of Japan, and Japanese people often go to sushi restaurants in Japan. In Toronto, I went to Spring Rolls Restaurant the other day with my friends that I met here. This restaurant had sushi too. The salmon is famous in Canada. So we ordered a lot of salmon sushi, shrimp sushi, mackerel sushi, tempura and so on. The salmon sushi was very delicious and similar to Japanese salmon sushi. But there were a lot of eccentric sushi which I had never seen in Japan before. For example, there were scallop, cod roe, and breadcrumbs inside a thin roll of seaweed. I have eaten Japanese sushi all my life, and I hope that one day this authentic Sushi will spread all over the world. However, Toronto salmon sushi is very good. I want to eat it again.

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Our Trip To Ripley’s Barbara Constanza Diaz-Valdes and Francisco Diaz-Valdes of Chile English PLUS, Low-Intermediate

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e have not had the opportunity to travel outside of our country, Chile. Our first trip was in January of this year, a most enjoyable holiday in the Dominican Republic. Our second trip was this one to Canada. We had high expectations of our visit to Canada and it did not disappoint. Its landscapes, people, and lifestyle make it a unique place. We visited and saw many fantastic places such as Niagara Falls, CN Tower, and Ripley’s Aquarium.

What can we say about our experience at Ripley’s Aquarium…amazing, beautiful, and fantastic.

The aquarium was amazing: being able to walk under the sharks, seeing many species of fish, and different sizes of stingrays. These are some of the things that are in Chile, but we do not have the opportunity to see or experience. The tour through the aquarium finished at a pool where you could touch the stingrays which approached the pool’s edge in a friendly manner. For any visitor to Canada, we 100% recommend visiting Ripley’s aquarium.

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academics

Graffiti

By: Sung Joon Kim of South Korea, English PLUS, Low-Intermediate

L

ast Friday, on August 21st, Junko’s class (which I belong to) had a joint session after the break with Anne and her group of students. We talked about graffiti, which is one kind of street art. Although drawing graffiti on a wall without its owner’s consent is assumed as vandalism and illegal, some people draw it to display their artwork.

We divided the united classes into several groups and each team got a map of a nearby neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, such as, Harbord, Annex, Yorkville, Little Italy, Kensington, and Chinatown. We had to take a subway or a bus to get to the place, and then took pictures of graffiti there. My team’s destination was Trinity Bellwoods, so we took the westbound train to Bathurst station. Then we took the southbound streetcar to Queen Street West. There was a lot of awesome graffiti on almost every wall I could see, but we had to leave soon because of the time limit. After coming back to the class, with an ice cream in our hand, each team drew their own graffiti on a large sheet of paper. I had no interest in graffiti before this, but it was way more fun than I thought. I guess it will be worth trying to find graffiti in my country when I go back to Korea.

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My First Vacation in Canada By: Ji Hyun Sung of South Korea, Academic English Level 50

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his summer, I took a trip to a completely new world - Montreal, Quebec City and Mont-Tremblant, which are located in the Province of Quebec. These cities are totally different from Toronto, so I really enjoyed this new world. First of all, Montreal is such a beautiful, delicious, bi-lingual, and religious city. There are many Catholic churches in Montreal including two famous cathedrals, St. Joseph and Notre Dame. My soul felt comfortable there because of silent and spiritual atmosphere. One of the top schools in Canada, McGill University, is located in the central place of Montreal.

McGill has a beautiful campus as well as academic fame. I enjoyed walking around the campus and the Redpath Museum, which exhibits highly valuable collections including dinosaurs, extinct animals, an Egyptian mummy and fossils.

Quebec City, which was my next destination, is full of gorgeous heritage buildings and fantastic scenery. I spent time seeing the St. Lawrence River from the terrace of Château Frontenac. I found myself attracted to the historical shopping district such as Petit Champlain in Lower Town. I really enjoyed walking around, taking plenty of pictures and seeing impressive small shops with unique home accessories, artistic paintings and creative sculptures. I was able to experience new tastes that I had never had in Quebec with a wide variety of French dishes. Especially, I was impressed with French cuisine in the Parliament restaurant of Quebec and in the revolving restaurant, which is located on the top floor of the Concord Hotel and offers a 360-degree view of Quebec City.

I was so excited to experience French style and tastes that I was not able to leave gorgeous Quebec City as scheduled. I decided to stay longer in Quebec City; thus, my travel schedule was delayed. Indeed, I arrived at Mont-Tremblant late at night. After waking up the next morning, I was really surprised by another incomparable views of the lake and mountain. Exciting activities in nature fully welcomed me. At that time, Helen Keller’s word touched my heart. “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” That’s exactly true to me. I spent too much time seeing a closed door.

I learned from this experience the wisdom to leave without hesitation. I hope we discover ourselves in new locations and adventures. Yours To Discover!

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academics

Scattered Words

By: Jean Bertin St Louis of Haiti, Former Academic English Student, Currently a Master of Divinity Candidate, Regis College, University of Toronto

§8- Living better is striving for a better world: - I want a better life. What can I do?

- Working for better conditions for others.

On Goodness, Beauty §9- Life is good: What we possess (even the smallest things) shows who we are; however, what we give (even our life) shows how human we are. §10- Dealing with old problems: In many occasions, we do something not because it is good in itself, but only because it could help to deal with actual problems and new paradigms.

On Humankind §11- Becoming really free: Being able to talk about our fears and our complex is an extraordinary revelation to share with someone we trust. It is still not easy. §12- Our truth: Who we are (even what we are living and experiencing) can be hidden from others, but never to the One who sees the secrecy of our hearts or the Other who stands beyond the others.

On Nature, Environment §1- Human beings love, nature loves: Nature loves those who work for its protection and preservation; and desires to return its resources through a proper use. §2- Our common house: Lady Nature suffers when she feels isolated (even abandoned) by the ones who have responsibility towards her.

On Love, Life §3- Go deeper in love! Love beyond love: Relationship of love is deficient when union of hearts and spirits are absent. As a result, relationship of Love cannot be only reduced to a sexual act or mere unions of bodies. The whole dimension of relationship between two different persons should be in play. §4- Learning art, learning love: The art of love requires a close attachment to someone or something while at the same time a detachment to other people or things. §5- Stay in love!: Living love towards others is the golden rule. This gives me great consolation, even if I fail sometimes because of my selfishness. §6- Love: to be or not to be: We cannot pretend to love all and to detest all at the same time. That is lying! §7- The true religion: The true law of love must set people free, rather than enslave, exploit, or abuse them.

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§13- You and I: I tell you who I really am by letting you observe how I share life with others and how I treat each of them. §14- Seeking happiness for one another: Our primary goal as human beings should be to contribute to the happiness of others: those that we meet daily and even those we do not know at all. §15- Beyond our limits: Not all we say depends on us.

Not all we do relies on us. In such situations, we say or do something just because we cannot say or do something else (which could perhaps be better). §16- The truth well known: Many have been and remained victims of incomprehension, indifference, and passivity of many others who could really help. This is among the truths that are never told! §17- Limited beings with great faculties: Sometimes we commit mistakes not because we are stupid, but because we let our passion triumph over our virtue, our feelings over our reason, our will over our intelligence, our heart over our head. Balance is where it is at! §18- Heart vs Head: Only two hearts can fall in love, as only two heads can persist in theirs stubbornness. §19- The poor are naturally protected: - May I give you an advice, my dear friend?

- Of course! Why not?

- Never abuse a person because he or she is poor; especially if you are powerful.

- Why not?

- Because the poor are naturally protected.

- Really!

On Morality §20- No more hurt!: The more people threat you badly, the more you are invited to be good to them. §21- Fame vs Shame: If we want to be famous, we have to work to be proclaimed famous by powerful figures.

There are two roads to achieve: the good and the evil.

Choose the good and you will really have fame, instead of shame!

On Religion, Spirituality §22- Good use of the means to achieve the goal: My daily activities should become a great space for meeting the Other through others. §23- Be quiet at least once in life: In front of the Mystery, we do not have to do or to say too much. We just have to experience it entirely. §24- The true religion is essentially good: Please do not do something evil in the name of religion especially if it is unjust or hurtful to others. §25- Religious life among many ways of life: Is embracing religious life a crazy decision, as some think? I think it is a great decision because the person who choses this way of life is called to experience the “Truth which sets people free” at a deeper level. §26- Harmony of the whole: Details remain details.

However, details which are contributing to the whole are a great thing. §27- Dialogue is always between two entities: As people or as countries, there is never a serious negotiation or a very important affair in any language that has not been mastered. Otherwise, it could lead to a bad experience! §28- The jackpot that you deserved, dear mother: A mother gains understanding of what mothers feel

especially when she becomes a mother. A mother gains understanding of what children need especially when she becomes a mother. The mother wins the jackpot! Incredible, strange, but true!

On Money, Wealth §29- Money first! Does it?: When money is everything, things only have value as money. §30- Ad Majorem-Dei-Gloriam: - It is time to advertise.

- For the good or for the bad?

- We just advertise, and that’s it.

- Come on guys!

On Weddings, Unions, Solidarity §31- I got married with you, with only you, Lady: When we get married to someone, we marry their past and present both the good and the bad. We strive to build a good life together. §32- Never learned: When we do not know how to cook, we can hurt ourselves. When we depend on others, we can hurt ourselves if they cannot cook.

What can we do then? §33- No possible expectation: To help others must be freely given and freely received, no obligation to either person. §34- Giving sense to life: One of the most sacred assignments that everyone in the world has (and we almost always forget) is striving to bring to life what has been planted by others. These are: justice, love, peace, dialogue between people and cultures. The legacy which others have left to the world in need is significant. §35- The new way to interact and socialize: If everyone throughout the world enters into dialogue and strives to reach understanding in spite of many differences, the world will experience its most significant change ever. Can technology really help in this? Maybe yes.

Maybe no.

Travel

By: Dr. Ismail Gelen (PhD) of Turkey, English PLUS, Intermediate

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like to travel and visit countries for challenge mayself. So I like to achieve new experience. I went to almost ten countries before; from Asia, Europe, Middle East to America. I think the life style of Canadians is similar to that of Americans.

Geographicaly, Canada is “the new world” but culturally “old”. Because you can see all the world’s nation in Canada. It is a good example of the “world nations”. It can be observed here that everyone lives in peace and at same time they are safe. Everything is punctual here.

According to me, nutrition is a big problem. The eating habits are very different. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, everything is different. The mediterrian cuisine depends on natural foods. Olive oil, veggies, fruit, soup, salad and especially tea are very important in Turkish cuisine. If a person would offer to be permanent sattlement in Canada, I don’t accept this offer. Because I like to live in Turkey.

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academics

Confidence

By: Ridban Isik of Turkey, English PLUS, Intermediate

M

y daughter suggested the English Language Program to me because she goes to the University of Toronto. U of T is a special university. When I came to Toronto, I couldn’t speak English. I couldn’t understand anything that involved listening. After completing the English Language Program at U of T in July and August, my English language skills improved. I feel much more confident now.

I completed the ELP without interruption.

I attended activities. Your organization was perfect for me. Ultimately, everything depends on the students. I felt rejuvenated and renewed.

I made new friends. I learned about different cultures. I also volunteered. As a result, it was a very busy two months for me.

The ELP helped me a lot with speaking and listening. Therefore, my instructors Catherine and Pia were very good. I also want to thank them. I think I’m going to come again to the ELP next year.

Transportation

By: Fernando Junior Resende Mascarenhas of Brazil, former Academic English student

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complex transport infrastructure is fundamental to enable citizen to work, study or relax because the social, economic and cultural development of a city is intrinsically related to its capacity for management.

Belo Horizonte, located in Brazil, is an example of huge city where there is an inadequate system of transport. In his monograph “Education in transit in high schools of Belo Horizonte” (“Educação para o trânsito nas escolas de ensino médio de Belo Horizonte”, Antônio Eustáquio Ferreira (2008), Master in Transports and Transit, from Centre of Federal Technological Education of Minas Gerais (CEFET/MG) says that Belo Horizonte has around 2.4 million inhabitants and an area of 331km². Belo Horizonte has huge challenges on transit systems, and the inefficient infrastructure of transport in the city can 14

be explained by two causes.

First, a large number of vehicles have been sold in Belo Horizonte, and this situation is a great challenge.

The economic development that has occurred in Brazil in the last ten years has enhanced the purchase power of the population, which has permitted them to acquire automobiles. According to Bragon, cited in Ferreira`s monograph, “over the years, the fleet of vehicles in Belo Horizonte increased more than 67%, from 623 thousand in 1998 to 1.045 million in 2008.” (Original version, “Em dez anos, a frota de veículos de Belo Horizonte cresceu mais de 67%. Passou de 623 mil veículos em 1998 para os atuais um 1,045 milhão”). Although daily there are more cars on its streets, the city is not prepared to manage this. Another reason is the poor quality

of public transportation. The insufficient number of subway lines and unsatisfactory space for the users create negative conditions. In addition to this, population have obstacles to commute through the city such as buses in disrepair, expensive bus tickets and uncomfortable vehicles. Professor Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Ph.D. in Transport Geography from Hosfstra University, in his article “Urban Transport Problems” (2013) argues that income can be a complication in solving this problem because “almost every public transit system cannot generate sufficient income to cover its operating and capital costs”.

These two problems cause three major effects. First, certain consequences arise from an incompetent system of transport and can be reflected in the economy of Belo Horizonte. For instance, commuters will be late to work, so the employees will be less productive. Furthermore, the products, services and goods will not be produced, delivered, sold or accomplished in the appropriate time which generates difficulties for commerce in the city.

Second, inhabitants of Belo Horizonte spend several hours of their day in transit. For instance, a huge number of vehicles on the roads can be a factor in large congestion and parking problems. Professor Jean-Paul Rodrigue states that congestion is one of the most important problems that huge cities have because of the “motorization and the diffusion of the automobile”. Third, health problems arise from great number of automobiles on streets. For example, according to Paul Taylor, in his article “Our

cars are killing us – and not just in the way you might think” (2012), the citizens can be affected by health problems caused by poor air quality, noise produced by cars and stress caused by vehicles which might reduce their life conditions.

In order to overcome the situation, four solutions should be adopted by the city. First, the city administration should partner with private sector to build more subway lines, which would permit an efficient connection between far places. Second, the city can minimize the problem by limiting the number of license plates that are issued to drivers by imposing high prices for each plate. Third, as a response to address the situation, the city should restrict the number of cars on roads each day by rotating the license plates: cars with even or odd plates would only be allowed to drive on alternate days. Finally, bus companies can reduce the problem by improving buses conditions and reducing the price of tickets, which can be done with appropriated management and punishment of bus companies that do not present enhancements to their vehicles.

These and other possible solutions must be adopted to overcome the currently conditions, otherwise, the transit of Belo Horizonte will decrease greatly.

Reasons for Free Education By: Kai Shi of China, Academic English Level 40

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here are three reasons that governments should provide free education to all students.

Firstly, education is not only the most important tasks of all countries, but also a good education system will develop many talents for society. If a country would like to be stronger, well developed skills are necessary. However, a lot of children cannot go to school because they are poor. They have lost the opportunity to learn, and this will affect their entire life. Furthermore, government has the responsibility to help uneducated children go to school. In China, educational funding has normally accounted for only 3% of GDP. Last year, spending finally reached 4%, but it is still lower than the world average. Government often says that they do not have enough money for education although they build office buildings, fight wars, engage in corruption and so forth every year. Government has a large amount of money, but they spend the money elsewhere. The government of China should continue to improve spending on education in the future because it is their responsibility. Moreover, children have the right to get a free education because government taxes personal income tax from their parents. In conclusion, students should get free education from their country.

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Groups

@elp

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his summer, the English Language Program had the pleasure of hosting several groups from universities in Japan.

Students were welcomed from such institutions as Kwansei Gakuin University, Kansai University, Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, Meiji University, Chukyo University, Nihon University, Osaka University of Economics and Law and Kobe University. These students experienced all the activities they could while studying English.

They had the opportunity to go canoeing on Lake Ontario, view Toronto from atop the CN Tower, enjoy a summer’s day by barbequing on Toronto Island, see one of the wonders of the world­— Niagara Falls—up close, cheer on the Toronto Blue Jays and much, much more.

Meiji University Chukyo University

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Nihon University

Kobe University 18

Canada’s Wonderland with Nagoya University of Foreign Studies By: Jessica Lim, ELP Cultural Assistant, MA Candidate, Education

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hen you think of Toronto, some attractions that come to mind are probably Niagara Falls, CN Tower, and Canada’s Wonderland. Canada’s Wonderland is one of my favorite things about Toronto because I get to spend the entire day on exhilarating roller coasters, on thrilling rides, and eating life-altering Funnel Cake. You haven’t experienced Toronto until you’ve tried one of these!

A crucial part of any Canada’s Wonderland trip, the Funnel Cake is a delicious doughnut-type dessert

with jelly, fresh fruit, and, of course, soft serve vanilla ice-cream. If you can’t ride the rides, at least don’t go home hungry!

Our students from Nagoya University of Foreign Studies spent their last weekend in Toronto at Canada’s Wonderland. Leviathan, Behemoth, Backlot Stunt Coaster, Flight Deck, Riptide, The Bat, and Vortex seemed to be the most popular among the students. They were all brave enough to face their fears and take on Leviathan, Canada’s Wonderland’s 16th roller coaster and Canada’s fastest and tallest roller coaster! Students were dropped from 306 feet at a speed of 148km/hour! The wait was a long one (almost 2 hours!), but it was definitely worth it as all of the students came back wanting more! Leviathan is by far the best roller coaster Canada has to offer.

Canada’s Wonderland also opened a new attraction this summer called Slingshot. The ride is exactly what it sounds like: a slingshot. The only difference between a slingshot and Canada’s Wonderland’s Slingshot is that two passengers are being shot into Toronto’s skies. I am both jealous and proud of these bold and daring NUFS girls that took on this new challenge. They have traveled to a part of Toronto not even the Cultural Assistants have ever been to! The best part about this ride is that each shot is “unique and unpredictable,” giving every passenger a different experience.

Canada’s Wonderland is not only amazing because of the attractions it has to offer, but also because it is a great place to become closer to your new friends.

If you’re afraid of crazy rides, just hold onto each other and scream together! You’ll only regret it if you don’t try!

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activities

Kwansei Gakuin University By: Erik Dean, ELP Cultural Assistant, Studying Ecology and Evolution, University of Toronto

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he month of August is always the busiest here at ELP. With all the university groups visiting and all the summer activities going on in Toronto, there’s a lot of potential fun to be had. Students attending the ELP from Kwansei Gakuin University (KGU) in Japan experienced this firsthand through their busy agenda of activities, with every week ending in something new to do.

One of the first activities that KGU students attended was a trip up the CN Tower. Not only was the view amazing, with the opportunity to see right into the baseball diamond of the Roger’s Centre, but the atmosphere was refreshing. At 342 metres high, the breeze felt while on the outdoor SkyTerrace was a nice break from the muggy air of downtown Toronto.

The next activity KGU students went on was a trip to watch the Broadway musical, Newsies, at the historical Ed Mirvish Theatre. Newsies was first a Disney musical film released in 1992, but it made for a great story to be adapted for the stage.

Some students found the musical to be moving and romantic, others found it entertaining though somewhat difficult to understand, and lastly, some found it to be a good time to take a nap.

Only a few days after watching Newsies, KGU students then visited Centre Island, of the Toronto Islands, for a day of barbecuing and relaxing on the beach. The first part of the day involved relaxing under the shade of trees and playing games while food was being prepared. Various bouts of eating would occur whenever a particular food item was

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finished cooking. After everyone had more than enough to eat, it was time to move to the beach for either more relaxing, games, or swimming.

Perhaps the biggest activity among them all was the trip to Niagara Falls, which also included a couple small stops along the way. The first stop of the day was the historical town of Niagara-onthe-Lake, which is a traditional looking settlement characterized by Georgian-style architecture. Next, KGU students visited the Konzelmann Estate Winery for a tour of their facilities and a tasting of their red, white, peach, and ice wines. Later on, for the main event, KGU students boarded the Hornblower boat cruise. On the Hornblower, the students were able to get as close as possible to the Horseshoe Falls of Niagara Falls. Thankfully they were provided with plastic ponchos, because there was deluge of mist coming down from the splashing of the falls!

Although it wasn’t an activity strictly for KGU students, many of them also attended the Harbourfront Canoeing event along with other ELP students. Although it was hard work, the view of Toronto’s skyline from Lake Ontario was surely worth it.

Lastly, KGU students ended their month abroad with a nice dinner at Milestone’s Grill and Bar. Although one student had forgotten about the dinner at first (she was having too much fun exploring U of T’s buildings), we were able to get everyone together in the end. Ultimately, it made for a great way to say goodbye.

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Q & A With Kansai University By: Asumi Matsumoto, Cultural Assistant Graduate of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto

y niversit t the U a y it iv ? act ourite nd why our fav gram, a y o s r a P w e Languag Q: What nglish E o t n o r “The most favorite activity of To “The most favorite activity is Niagara Falls. Because I wanted to go there in my life. I could ride a Boat and see Niagara Falls so close.

Also near town was so good!!”

“The most favorite activity is Niagara Falls. When I got on board a boat, it was beautiful views. It is important for me to make a precious memory.”

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“My favorite activity is Niagara Falls. I saw a beautiful scene which I have never seen. I want to go there again.”

is Niagara Falls!!! Because I hadn’t looked at the so big fall and was able to feel wonder of nature.”

“The most favorite activity for me is Boat Cruise Party because I could dance and conversation with many foreigners, it was so fun and had a good time there.”

“Boat Cruising is the most favorite activity. The reason is because I danced with another foreign people and different college students, and had the opportunity to understand other cultures.”

“The most favorite activity is Niagara Falls! Since before joining this seminar, I’m looking forward to seeing Niagara Falls. It was very good I could see while I live. Thank you!”

“The most favorite activity is playing volleyball in woodbine beach. Because I could get in touch with other people, and have a funny time there.”

“Niagara Falls is the most favorite activity! I wanted to go there since I have known there junior high school student. Scenery & pictures in Niagara Falls are very important memory for me.”

“Beach Volleyball is the most favorite activity.

That reason why I could talk with other country students, through that’s activity.”

“The most favorite activity for me is Boat Cruise Party. Because I could communicate with many foreign people. It was so good experience for me!!”

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activities

@elp

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activities

Volunteering

By: Erik Dean, Cultural Assistant, Studying Ecology and Evolution, University of Toronto

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ith winter approaching, it’s easy to think about how each season comes with its own share of benefits and drawbacks. You might not like how cold it can get in Toronto during the end of the year, but you might instead like all the opportunities to go skating. While each time of year is more or less suitable for certain activities, it’s important to note that volunteering is available all season! Of course, volunteer events are also subject to the seasonal changes; understandably, there aren’t many marathons to volunteer at in December. However, if speaking English, interacting with Canadians, and gaining experience through a diverse range of activities is what you’re interested in, then you should be able enjoy that all year round through volunteering with the ELP. The organizations that have the most history with the ELP tend to be the ones we work with throughout the year. The Scott Mission is one of these organizations; they engage in charity work every day and always rely on the contributions of volunteers. Students from the ELP have spent many mornings in the past helping with meals which The Scott Mission serves to poor and needy people. Volunteers help through a variety of ways, by preparing the ingredients, setting up the dining hall, serving the meals, and cleaning up afterwards.

Occasionally, volunteers also help out in the food bank by organizing grocery bags of non-perishable food items, which are later given to families to take home.

Another organization students from the ELP often contribute their time to is FoodShare Toronto, a non-profit which aims to provide healthy food and education to the community. FoodShare toronto has a warehouse, stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables, which processes orders from various organizations. Being a non-profit organization, FoodShare Toronto relies on volunteers to help with these orders.

Every Wednesday morning, volunteers from the ELP can be found busily packing various fruits and vegetables in the FoodShare Toronto Warehouse.

It’s worthwhile to mention that organizing various fruits and vegetables according to a delivery list is a great way to work on your vocabulary! Students first have to read the names of the fruits or vegetables, then recognize them in the warehouse, and then collect them in the correct quantity.

This kind of practice can come in handy later on, especially if you’re interested in cooking and dining.

Recently, I witnessed two ELP students discussing a dish that one of them had eaten at their homestay.

The conversation concerned whether one student was served a banana or a plantain, two different but closely related fruits. The student who ate the dish told the other “I don’t know the difference between the two”, and the other replied “you should go to FoodShare!”.

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here are many other fun volunteer events which occur less frequently than the ones mentioned previously. Many of the ELP’s volunteer excursions are for short term events, such as festivals, marathons, tournaments, and fundraising events.

These events tend to be a lot of fun because they offer diversity; no two events are the same and each exposes its volunteers to new challenges.

Some of the short term volunteer events that volunteers from the ELP have participated in recently include the Dusk Dances performances in Withrow Park, the H.O.P.E. Volleyball Tournament, the Toronto Women’s Run, and Open Streets TO. Of course, when you donate your time and energy to go out and volunteer, you can experience a lot more than you might expect. Through the events just mentioned, students from the ELP were able to watch some amazing modern dance performances, spend time on Centre Island amidst heated volleyball games, and experience the excitement of a road race finish line. The last event, Open Streets TO, offered some particularly unique experiences. In that event, major stretches of Bloor St. and Yonge St. were closed to vehicular traffic so that they could be freely enjoyed by cyclists and pedestrians. Volunteers were able to interact with many members of the community on a leisurely Sunday morning, practicing their conversational skills while enjoying the activities.

If you’re interested in gaining some volunteer experience, you’re always welcome. Our volunteer meetings are held most Wednesdays of the year at 5:15 PM. We hope to see you soon!

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activities

This Is How We Roll Teaching the Art of Sushi By: Jennifer Harris, ELP Instructor

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ansai University students taught students from the conditional acceptance program how to roll sushi in early August.

It was an educational and yummy experience!

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Softball

Cheering on the ELP Beavers By: Fadia Cocco, Cultural Assistant Studying Political Science and Art History, University of Toronto

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ith the Toronto Blues Jays continuously advancing in their league this summer, the ELP Beavers decided to follow in their foot steps.

Within these past months the Eager Beavers have constantly received endless amounts of support from their fans, coaches and teammates. Together they strive for excellence, through their skills and sportsmanship. The fan parties before the game are exciting and fun filled - with music playing, face and poster painting and much more, this event is meant to encourage team spirit and get everyone eager to play. Our team spirit shines bright through our spirit squad before, during and after the games with cheers, songs and continuous applause for all our players. You can always catch them, dancing, jumping up and down, or coming up with a new cheers to boost the energy of the players on and off the field. Wearing colours of red, blue and white, the spirit squads chanting pierces through the field, making sure every member is able to hear their love and encouragement.

During our softball games, everyone gets a chance to play and show off their knack for the sport or sometimes even their undiscovered talents.

Whether it’s pitching, batting, fielding or even cheering on the sidelines every participant is able to find something they love and enjoy doing during this exciting event.

Our Cultural Assistants aside from playing every now and again, also help coach our beloved team into a well oiled machine. While also assisting with

strategy, the coaches are able to educate players on different rules and ways to approach the game at any instance.

Every game is filled with surprises, ranging from home runs, to great plays; each member helps each other strive to be the best softball players they can be. After each game, our team comes together to provide constructive feedback with new tips and ideas to try for the next upcoming game. The ELP Eager Beavers are able to overcome all odds always with a smile!

After the games, our players get together; to unwind, socialize and discuss the awesome teamwork experienced that day. Our softball games are events, which students and staff at the English Language Program look forward all week. Students have found that softball is a wonderful activity that they truly enjoy. It has motivated them to practice their English language skills on and off the field.

Go Beavers!

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activities

Ripley’s Aquarium

Creatures of the Sea Up Close By: Lingnan Meng, Cultural Assistant Studying Language and Literacy Education, University of Toronto

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iley’s Aquarium is a world with 16,000 aquatic animals. The Aquarium features North America’s longest underwater viewing tunnel with more than 5.7 million litres of water and over 100 interactive opportunities. There are mainly three carefully curated galleries inside of the aquarium, including the Canadian Waters, the Rainbow Reef and the Dangerous Lagoon.

The time we entered the aquarium, we were amazed by the beauty of marine life and impressed by this aquatically diverse world. As we walked through the Canadian Waters, we got to know varieties of featured animals, such as Alewife, Largemouth Bass, American Lobster, Wolf Eel, Lumpfish, Giant Pacific Octopus, China Rockfish. When we passed through the Dangerous Lagoon, we had an opportunity to get up close and personal with three touch exhibits featuring horseshoe crabs, sharks, and rays.

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Horseshoe Crabs This is one of the discovery centers where students had an opportunity of have a close and personal touch with the sea animals. Here, we get to know that the horseshoes crab belongs to the same species with scorpion and no wonder they look similar.

Ocean Layers The aquarium is a wonderful place to get knowledge of the aquatic world. When we passed through the Canadian Waters, students were surprised by the multiple layers in the ocean. Definitely, this short underwater trip has broadened their scope of knowledge.

The Gift Shop The Submarine Students felt so excited to be in this pop-up research submarine� that offers a unique inthe-habitat view of Dangerous Lagoon.

The perfect conclusion to our remarkable adventure is the Cargo Hold™ gift shop. It has a unique collection of marine-themed gifts and keepsakes from around the world as well as the work of local artisans. This souvenir shop is not only a paradise for gifts, but also a wonderful place for pictures!

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activities

Learning Through Sport The Culture of Sports Club

By: Ali Mrani Alaoui, Cultural Assistant Studying Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto

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ports activities provided by the Sports Club are one of the key features provided by the English Language Program (ELP) at the University of Toronto. We, at the university, believe that sports bring so many benefits to the students that go beyond the fields.

First and foremost, sports enable students to create unique friendship bonds with fellow classmates/team-mates. It brings together people coming from complete different backgrounds whether it is cultural, social, religious, forming one cohesive team. In that team all the differences are forgotten. The only thing that matters is the team spirit that gives each one a role to play in order to win the game. The interaction between the players create ties between them that often remain intact outside the playfields. Moreover, those interactions are very fruitful for developing English skills. In fact, at the ELP, we favour sports that require a keen communication between the players like soccer, basketball or softball. More generally, we favour team sports over individual sports.

Secondly, the Sports Club allows fellow students to discover new cultures and new ways of practicing sport. For example, most of the European students played Softball for the first time and they enjoyed it a lot. Similarly, touch football was not familiar for the students coming from Japan. Playing those two sports that represent the North American culture has enabled the student to be more integrated to the Canadian environment. In addition, the diversity of the ELP students has permitted an interesting interaction of sport practices. In other words, students from different culture have shown different technique and strategies of playing sports.

For example, while Japanese students prefer to play basketball using very strong dribbling skills, European students prefer to shoot the ball and pass the ball a lot in order to avoid dribbling To conclude, the sports club is highly recommended for the students and we guarantee you that you are going to have a nice time, make a lot of friends and especially, practice your English.

Sports Club

Join us throughout the month ffor Sports Club. Events are free!

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Darren’s Music Corner Writing a Song with Guitar By: Darren Rigo, Activities Assistant Graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design

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huge majority of students I meet that are incredibly talented musicians have little or no experience song writing. I am always taken aback that they have no trouble playing flawless renditions of Arabesque or the solo from Stairway to Heaven but have never even considered composing a melody of their own. I consider myself a creative person, so it’s hard for me to imagine studying an instrument for countless hours and never attempting to make up something original. I just chalk it up to cultural difference.

Whether you are already and an accomplished musician or just starting out I highly encourage you to try your hand at writing a song. Don’t worry if it turns out good. Chances are your first song is going to nothing short of terrible, but as you write more and more they will improve until you have something you can be proud of and play for your friends!

There are no rules for how to write a song.

Professional musicians all do it in their own unique way. You will just have to experiment to see what works for you. I do find its easier is you break it down into a few basic steps. The first step to is to decide whether you want to write the lyrics or music first. It doesn’t matter what order you do it in.

For me, lyrics always seem to be the way to start. If you don’t know what to write a song about, just try to pick a topic at random. Broccoli, love, pencils, English, even what you ate for breakfast would all be great topics for a first song.

Keep it simple, just four lines is a good place to start.

Once you get your words down, try to decide the mood for your song then figure out a simple chord progression, tempo and strumming pattern to start from. If you want a happier song try a faster tempo, fancier strumming and use mostly major chords (like G C D C for instance). For a sadder song take it slow, simply strum or even finger pick and use a few minors (Em G Am D would work). Then fit in the lyrics and experiment with the vocal melody until you get something you like.

That’s it! You wrote your first song. You can repeat this process to add more song elements like additional verses, a chorus, a bridge, lead in, or amazing solo. Most importantly experiment, let your imagination run, and don’t take the process too seriously, song writing is a lot of fun!

Music Club

Join us every Thursday at 5:15PM for Music Club.

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academics

Buskerfest

Toronto’s Street Performer Festival By: Jingjing Li, Cultural Assistant Master’s of Education Candidate, OISE, University of Toronto

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stablished in 1999 by Epilepsy Toronto, the idea of BuskerFest, the largest epilepsy event in the world and North America’s largest Street Performer Festival, is to create a vibrant and fun festival experience for all people who attend this event, and at the same time to raise funds for epilepsy and call for public awareness.

BuskerFest is one of the last major festivals in summer in Toronto. Over 170 street performers from around 70 areas all over the world gather together to create one of the most vibrant, spontaneous and colorful festivals in Canada.

There is always something for everyone at the festival.

Silent comedy, magic show, clowns, puppets, fire, acrobats, things you’ve never expected… and much much more!

On August 29, ELP students attended BuskerFest 2015.

This year the festival took place at Yonge Street, the longest and one of the most vibrant streets in the world. We were welcomed by a hospitable juggler walking on stilts when we arrived at Yonge Street. He gave us a real “high” five from his two-meter high stilts! As we walked down Yonge Street, we saw various interesting street performances. The performers were friendly and they did wonderful job to present their performances. We enjoyed all the shows no matter it was exotic musical or local comedy. Some of the performances were totally out of our expectation.

Besides the street performances, another fun part of the BuskerFest day was the food from all over the world.

Watching the performances while eating a crispy, sweet funnel cake topped with strawberries and ice cream is one of the most enjoyable things in a nice summer day! Our visit to the BuskerFest ended with a firm and friendly hug from a giant seagull and a nice talk with the mirror family. Covered with crystal metal pieces all over their body, they were definitely the most shining performers of the BuskerFest.

It was a thrilling experience. I definitely recommend students to go there next year!

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Harbourfront Canoe Toronto from A New Perspective By: Mustafa Ersin Sarier, Cultural Assistant Master’s of Applied Science Candidate, University of Toronto

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s sport or recreational activity, canoeing is one of the best and most fun events to do in Toronto. It also involves paddling a canoe as a really good exercise.

Canoeing is also special for Canada since it has been used as an ancient mode of transportation. What better way is there to spend a summer’s evening in Canada’s largest city!

Starting at Toronto’s harbourfront and travelling in large canoes that can fit 15-20 people, it usually takes approximately 20 minutes to arrive Toronto Islands—our mid-point destination­—depending on the paddling speed.

Here, we take a 30-minute break and have of free time to rest and walk around the Centre Island. After that, we paddle back to Harbourfront and witness the beautiful view of Toronto city skyline. Especially if you are doing this activity first time (or your are an experienced canoe paddler), canoeing on Toronto’s Habrourfront is a truly unique and Canadian experience. You learn how to paddle well, sit inside the canoe and, on a summer evening, take in the city from a new vantage point.

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academics

Fun Facts About Canada Did You Know....?

By: Andrea Michaely Sriskandarajah, Cultural Assistant Studying Women & Gender Studies and Equity Studies, University of Toronto

“Kanata?” “Canada!”

Many people are unaware that the name “Canada” actually comes from the word “Kanata,” which is used by the Aboriginal tribe the Iroqouis, who predominantly resided in Quebec.

In the Iroqouis language, the term “Kanata” refers to a village or a settlement, but the European explorer Jacques Cartier assumed the term referred to an entire area of a country, not a small area such as a village or a settlement.

What?! The University of Toronto is older than Canada?

As surprising this may sound – it is entirely true!

The University of Toronto as you know today was originally called King’s College and was founded in 1827. Canada became a country on July 1st, 1867, making the University of Toronto much older than Canada itself – 40 years to be exact.

We love (to make) money!

The Royal Canadian Mint is the corporation responsible for making money in Canada. What a lot of people do not know is that the Royal Canadian Mint also produces or has produced currency (especially coins) for a large number of other countries around the world - over 73 countries since its first opening in 1908 to be exact. Some of these countries include Argentina, Australia, Brasil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, India, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

We have and produce oil and a large amount too!

Believe it or not but Canada has the third largest oil reserves in the entire world, after the oil-producing 36

giants of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. In Canada, we have approximately 168 billion barrels of crude oil, in particular.

Too cool for school or too school for cool?

You should feel quite pleased to be studying here at the English Language Program – better yet, in Canada because Canada is the world’s most educated country. A study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has found that 51% of Canada’s population has completed undergraduate and/or graduate degrees. If you are wondering who is behind Canada in being the most educated countries in the world, they are as follows: Israel (#2), Japan (#3), United States (#4), New Zealand (#5), South Korea (#6), United Kingdom (#7), Finland (#8), Australia (#9) and Ireland (#10).

One country, six time zones.

As of 2015, Canada now utilizes six time zones, roughly covering four and a half hours. The six time zones include Pacific, Mountain, Central, Eastern (the one we use here in Ontario), Atlantic and Newfoundland. If you were to drive across Canada on the Trans-Canada Highway, you are able to drive “through” these different time zones.

Small in numbers, but big in land.

Although Canada is enormous in size, being second to Russia in being the world’s biggest country, our population is one of the lowest. As of 2015, Canada’s estimated population stands at 35,749,600 people, which may seem like a large amount at first glance.

However, as of 2015, the Tokyo-Yokohama region has approximately home to 37.8 million people. In other words, the city of Tokyo has more people than the entire population of Canada combined.

From fur to fashion.

The Hudson’s Bay Company, which you have probably walked by on Bloor St. East, is the oldest operating trading company in the world. It was originally founded in 1670, but they were not selling clothes, furniture, cosmetics, and jewellery yet. When it was founded, the Hudson’s Bay Company was a large furtrading company, eventually growing to include goods such as liquor, canned fish, coffee and tea. Today it sells everything from makeup, to shoes, to clothes, to furniture, to electronics.

Lakes, lakes and more lakes!

Canada has more lakes in the country than the rest of the world’s lakes combined together. Approximately 60% of the lakes found in the world are actually situated in Canada. There is no official number as there are thousands upon thousands of small-, medium-, and large-sized lakes, however, Canada has 31,752 lakes that are larger than 3 square kilometre and has 561 lakes larger than 100 square kilometer.

Perhaps, now you will appreciate our beautiful Lake Ontario a little more!

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activities

Seasons Keep On Changing But There’s Still A Lot To Do By: Graham Schular, Cultural Assistant Master’s of Teaching Graduate, OISE, University of Toronto

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Photograph by David Wu

t’s been a great summer here at the English Language Program. We’ve kept very busy doing a lot of fun summery-things around the city of Toronto. With the days getting a little shorter, and the temperature getting a little cooler, it’s time to start thinking about the next season: fall! As we get ready to transition from one season to the next, here are some new activities to replace our summer outings that you can participate in at ELP to keep you busy this autumn!

The Canadian National Exhibition is a well-known Canadian pastime. The CNE (for short) is the quintessential event that signifies the end of summer, and the start of fall. Midway games are fun – as long as you aren’t losing too many games such as ‘Whack a Mole’ or ‘Go Fish,’ and the rides at the CNE are exhilarating! Our favourite rides at ELP include the Ferris Wheel, and the chair lift, which takes you from one end of the CNE to the other, high above the crowds, the sweet smells, and the brilliant lights. My absolute favourite part of the CNE is all of the tasty food available. This year’s hits were the deep-fried Oreo cookies, the deep-fried chocolate chicken, the brownie-ice cream sandwich, and (my personal favourite) the Bad Boy Burger (this spicy cheeseburger is wedged between two Jamaican beef patties – yum!). While the CNE is an exciting summer event, the inevitable cool autumn weather comes soon after, which means that the next big attraction to come to the exhibition grounds is just around the corner.

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (the Royal, for short) is a great fall event to attend. ELP students can trade in their shorts and flip-flop shoes for a pair of jeans and cowboy boots and visit the barnyard animals and agricultural goods for sale at the Royal.

Horseshows are a lot of fun because you get to see skillful horseback riders jump their horses high over fence posts and hay bails. Beef and dairy cattle are on display: you can even watch a cow get milked!

The CNE is a great summer event, but as the days get shorter, there’s nothing like attending the Royal in downtown Toronto to keep you busy this autumn.

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Canadian National Exhibition

Probably one of the most popular events that we offer at ELP is the Toronto Island Barbeque. We take hundreds of students to Toronto Island every summer and cook up a delightful BBQ lunch. The weather is always sunny and warm. It’s fun to throw around a Frisbee, or lay about as we snack on so many great and tasty treats: BBQ corn on the cob, grilled pineapple, pork chops, hot dogs, and salmon. My mouth is watering! We finish off the BBQ with a trip to the beach to go swimming, play beach volleyball and to build sandcastles. Students are always so tired after these summer day-trips to the Toronto Island.

Were you able to join us this summer? No?! Well lucky you, we offer great fall day trips around the city as well.

One of the most popular day trips at ELP is visiting an apple orchard to pick our own apples! Apple Picking is a favourite Canadian pastime to do in the cooler fall months. Royal gala, Mackintosh, and northern spy are just a couple of the different varieties of apples that we can pick. Apple picking also includes hay-rides, discovering the pumpkin patch, and of course: eating as much apple pie as we can! A visit to the apple orchard is a great way to spend a cool fall day; why not practice your English with us as we pick a few sweet apples this autumn?

Who remembers walking up and down Toronto’s famous Yonge Street visiting the 2015 Buskerfest this summer? In case you missed it, Buskerfest is a summer festival in downtown Toronto that showcases extraordinary acts put on by amateur and professional street performers. Performances include magicians, acrobats, ventriloquist acts, musicians, puppet shows and other forms of street art. During Buskerfest, the entire downtown section of Yonge Street is closed to the traffic, which allows pedestrians to get a good view of the different buskers, and street performers in action. Buskerfest is a great way to spend a sunny day at ELP. However, once the temperatures start to dip a little bit, and the days get a little shorter, a different event takes over Yonge Street.

Toronto Island BBQ

Buskerfest

Halloween is a classic event in Toronto, and the spooky season is kicked off with a Zombie Walk up and down Yonge Street. ELP students participate in the Zombie Walk every year, and instead of buskers performing, ELP join the thousands of other Zombies in a gruesome, brains-eating walk through downtown.

We start off at ELP covering ourselves in spooky masks, and horrifying face-paint. Then we take a quick trip downtown to join the rest of Toronto’s zombie-enthusiasts. Make sure to practice your Zombie groans and moans and join the rest of the undead at this year’s fall Zombie Walk!

There are so many great activities to participate in at ELP; each and every one of them can help you to practice your English speaking skills. We’ll miss the warm months of summer at ELP, but we’re also excited for the autumn season to begin and for all of the things to do in Toronto when the temperatures start to dip, and the days begin to feel shorter. What better place is there to experience this seasonal change than at the English Language Program at the University of Toronto?

Halloween 39

ELP on Instagram #UofTELP

@gianluiezzi: Toronto Blue Jays #baseball

@toshi0929: #Toronto #UofTELP

@yyzaws: An epic selfie. Welcome the ladies from Kobe University in Japan to U of T’s English Language program. #uoftelp #UofT#YYZ #Pearson #selfie #Japan

shue_g: Great tour of the #UofT campus with new #UofTELP students. @uoftelp: Thanks to everyone who came out to the #UofT campus tour. Welcome to #UofTELP!

@kanako0794: EP Cup

@maojoygram.jp: #Canada #Toronto #Ontario #UofT #UofTELP

hyuga_u: Panamanian in Toronto #UofTELP

@shue_g: Tough looking Cultural Assistants @ ELP

@daydream0408: I miss you already #UofT #ELP #UofTELP #canada

@polladuranocreeendios: The best four weeks of student. I love Teacher Junko, best teacher. I will miss all and I wait for everyone in Chile. #UofT #UofTELP #EnglishPlus (University of Toronto English Language Program)

@toshi0929: #Toronto #UofTELP #softball #sunshine

@rencaballero: #uoftelp #volunteering at #fortyork (at Fort York National Historic Site)

@daydream0408: #Conversation Cafe with #CA #friend #UofT #UofTELP #English #Canada #Toronto

@gianluiezzi: #tyrannosaurus #UofTELP

@m_i_y_u_0_2_0_1 #UofTELP

@UofTELP: Some of our #UofTELP students decided to match it up at Canada’s Wonderland today! #canadaswonderland #wonderland #canada #explore

Ask Rosa

Tips for the New Student

By: Rosa Leo, ELP Program Administrator

Dear Rosa, Dear Rosa, Apart from library use, is there any other benefit to the student TCard?

—New to UofT Dear New To UofT, Welcome to Toronto and to UofT! As a UofT student, you’ll be delighted to know that the student TCard entitles you to student discounts at places such as: Snowdon Pharmacy, Club Monaco (excluding shoes and exclusive collections) Shoppers Drug Mart (with an Optimum points card), METRO supermarkets, L’Espresso Bar Mercurio, Subway eateries, UofT Bookstore and many other retail outlets. You can find discounts on food, retail items, travel and city attractions. So the next time you’re out and about, be sure to inquire about student discounts. Every little bit helps.

Would I be able to claim a GST/HST tax refund on purchases made while I was here?

—Curious Traveler Dear Curious Traveler, Good question. At one time you were able to, but as of April 2007, non-resident visitors to Canada are no longer able to claim a rebate. However, nonresident visitors may be eligible to claim a rebate on accommodations associated with tour packages or services and property used during conventions while you are here. If you’re curious to know more, I recommend you contact the Canada Revenue Agency. Happy shopping!

Rosa Leo has been serving the the students at the English Language Program for over 10 years.

Visit Rosa in the ELP Office for student services or registration information.

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Enjoy @elp Magazine in Print and Online!

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here are now two ways to find out what’s happening at the English Language Program. ELP’s magazine—@ elp—has been officially launched in blog form!

Like the magazine, @elp Blog celebrates what truly makes the English Language Program great: the academics, activities and accomplishments of its students and staff. Find us online at learn.english.utoronto.ca/blog.

Contribute to @ELP Magazine & Blog 1) Email your submission to dan.pinese@utoronto.ca 2) Attach your text submission to the email in a word document. Attach any photographs or artwork separately.

3) Include your full name, home country, and the course you’re enrolled in.

@elp MAGAZINE

Stay Connected

facebook.com/uoftelp

instagram.com/uoftelp

@elpscsuoft

youtube.com/uoftelp

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ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAM 252 Bloor Street West, Suite 4-106 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1V6 e: learn.english@utoronto.ca w: learn.english.utoronto.ca SCHOOL OF CONTINUING STUDIES 158 St. George Street Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2V8 t: 416.978.2400 f: 416.978.6666 e: learn@utoronto.ca w: learn.utoronto.ca